Wanna Look Like an Athlete? You Better Train Like One

First off, let us look at what generally constitutes an athlete’s physique:

Lean

Great muscular tone

Nice glutes (“butt” for those who fell asleep in anatomy)

Nice Legs

Strong, defined arms

Strong, attractive core/midsection

They are flat-out generally attractive, wouldn’t you agree?

Now, I would be flat out blown away if there was a single person who reads this post that does not want every single one of those attributes above. However, there is one huge mistake going on, it is only the athletes that are training like athletes. What I see happening in every single gym I attend is masses of people training like they are preparing themselves for the Boston Marathon. Miserably trudging along on a treadmill, stairmaster, and the like. Common sense is not so common people, because it looks as though many of you are training for the emaciated marathon runner look! For comparison, let us look at what the general long distance runner physique looks like:

Malnourished

Skinny

Chubby (yes, this is not a typo, you will often see a chubby runner who logs tons of miles)

Injured

Frail

Inflexible

Again, I would be flat out floored if these were the attribute you were looking for in your physique! Being that this blog is so new I do not want to turn away readers, but if you are the person who knowingly trains strictly aerobically with the strong belief that it is what is best for you, chances are you will not like most of my material. To not get too far off track, let us look at why athletes look the way they look. Athletes are explosive, strong, and flexible because of the demands imposed on their bodies. They jump, sprint, hop, bound, push, pull, rotate, kick, and throw, which are actions that require much force, strength, and coordination. For those of you saying, “I cannot walk and chew gum at the same time,” the good news is you do not have to be good at those actions, you just have to be good enough at them to not hurt yourself. Chances are that you can become quite athletic by tapping into some genetic athletic potential that you never knew existed! Without ranting further, here is what you need to do:

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I have heard talk highly of using the foam roll many times. The gym I belong to does not provide any of these. Would you know of a place that I could get one for my own personal use,and if so, what kind of exercises would go along with this?

First off, foam rolling is intended to improve the integrity of your muscle tissue. Chances are you have some tight dense areas that essentially need to be massaged out on a regular basis…enter the foam roll. You can purchase a foam roll through http://www.performbetter.com, or you can make one of your own with PVC and foam glued to it to provide some padding. In any event, head to http://www.youtube.com and search foam roll + the following:

Glutes
Thoracic Spine
Hip Flexors
Adductors
Lats

That should get you started, let me know if you need any more guidance.

Gail, when I speak of total body workouts in the post, I’m speaking in terms of strength training. Although the step class does involve total body movements, which is great for total calorie expenditure, it is more aerobic and doesn’t involve resistance. Great question!